It appears the United Conservative Party government will slam the brakes on its plan to move traffic ticket challenges online and away from court while charging people a fee to fight them. Transportation Minister Rajan Sawhney says she is recommending the plan be scrapped. She says her recommendation is based on feedback from Albertans who don't like the idea. Sawhney says her recommendation must still be approved by Premier Jason Kenney's cabinet.

Police in Calgary say they are investigating thefts at yoga studios around the city. Police say thieves are stealing keys and wallets from lockers or jacket pockets while people are in class. Staff Sergeant Darwin Pearce says the keys are used to steal cars and credit cards from the stole wallets are used to make fraudulent purchases. Pearce says the first theft was reported in January and there have been more than five reported since then.

An Alberta-based app is offering mental-health support to people affected by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The Resilience and Hope for Ukraine program sends messages in four languages, Ukrainian, English, French and Russian. Anyone with a cellphone can text ``Hope-4-Ukraine'' at 3-9-3-9-3-9 to get a supportive message daily. The idea was first developed after the Fort McMurray wildfires in 2016, and was rolled out again to help with anxiety over COVID-19 two years ago.

An arrest warrant has been issued for Jesse Bennett on March 22, 2022.As North Cowichan/Duncan RCMP officers continue to search for Jesse and his daughter Violet, investigators have now gathered sufficient evidence to recommend a criminal charge against Jesse. As a result, a warrant for his arrest has been issued by a Provincial Court.Jesse and Violet Bennett have been reported missing on January 24, 2022. See original media release here.Jesse Bennett is wanted for Abduction in contravention of a custody order. Jesse Bennett is described as:Caucasian man;36 years old;5’10160 lbsBlue eyesBrow

Vancouver Police have arrested the man who allegedly defaced a memorial to passengers of the Komagata Maru last summer.VPD officers located and arrested Yuniar Kurniawan in the Downtown Eastside on Monday night. Kurniawan was charged with one count of mischief in January, and had been wanted on a BC-wide warrant prior to his arrest.The charge stems from a VPD investigation that was launched on August 22, 2021, when the Komagata Maru memorial, located in Coal Harbour, was defaced with white paint, hand prints, and graffiti. The memorial honours passengers who were aboard the Komagata Maru when

Ninety of Canada's top climate scientists and forest researchers have written to the federal government urging protection for old-growth trees. A federal plan setting greenhouse gas emission reductions is expected to be announced soon and the scientists say ancient timber stands must be protected. They say old-growth trees store about 50 per cent more carbon than younger trees but old-growth is being harvested too quickly, releasing greenhouse gases and making forests less able to withstand wildfires. The letter also calls on federal watchdogs to do more to calculate the greenhouse gases rele

Victoria Police Chief Del Manak says he's disappointed Esquimalt council has rejected the portion of his department's 2022 budget that would have funded 10 new positions. Esquimalt and the City of Victoria share policing costs for the capital and although Victoria council has approved the department's entire 63.4-million dollar budget, Esquimalt rejected the portion that would have funded the 10 new jobs. Manak says the new hires, including two plainclothes co-responder officers who work as a team with a psychiatric nurse, are ``an essential component of the department's overall core budget r

Vancouver police say an assault charge has been approved after a man was allegedly shoved down a flight of stairs at a Vancouver SkyTrain station. Police say 53 year old Bradley King faces a single count of assault related to the March 1st incident where video appears to show a 61 year old man being pushed and then kicked as he lay at the bottom of the stairway. Investigators say there was a verbal confrontation between the victim and another man in the moments before the 61 year old was shoved. Court documents show King has been released from custody and is scheduled to return to court on Ap

Afghanistan's Taliban rulers have decided against reopening schools to girls above the sixth grade, reneging on a promise and opting to appease their hard-line base, at the expense of further alienating the international community. The surprise decision is bound to disrupt Taliban efforts to win recognition from potential donors abroad at a time when Afghanistan is mired in a worsening humanitarian crisis. U.S. Special Representative Thomas West tweeted his ``shock and deep disappointment'' about the decision, calling it ``a betrayal of public commitments to the Afghan people and the internat